This description relates to a power control apparatus and method for controlling a multi-core processor.
With the increased demand for high-speed processors, multi-core processors are being utilized instead of single-core processors. A multi-core processor, which contains multiple cores in a single processor, can share and process a task among the cores, and thereby improve overall processing capability. Since the cores of the multi-core processor can share other common system components, it is possible to manufacture a system with a lower cost and in a smaller size, as compared with the case of using multiple single-core processors.
Since a multi-core processor operates multiple cores, the multi-core processor typically consumes more power than a single-core processor. The increased power consumption reduces the operating time of a battery that supplies power to a portable computer. As the power consumption increases, the amount of heat generated by the system may also increase.